Hidden Matrix LP's

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Cai Campbell

In Remembrance
Since 2002/2003
Joined
Mar 4, 2002
Messages
2,970
Location
Seattle, WA
I know there are many SQ and QS records out there that were never advertised or marked as such, but I just got a bit of info today that really caught me by surprise! I've been hanging out lately at www.stevehoffman.tv . If you don't know who Steve Hoffman is, he is a highly regarded mastering guru responsible for the majority of the excellent DCC LP's and gold CD's.

Anyway, there was some mention of Neil Young's "Harvest" being an SQ quad recording and I felt the need to set things straight by saying this was never released in quad. Steve Hoffman himself replied with the following:

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Originally posted by Steve Hoffman

Well, actually, "Harvest" was (in a sense) released in SQ. Put an SQ decoder on your old LP. It should decode nicely.

BTW, the master tapes of Harvest are marked "SQ" right on the tape boxes.

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Wow, talk about a mind-blower! I'm going to have to give that one a listen tonight!

BTW, www.stevehoffman.tv is an EXCELLENT and VERY active discussion board. I highly recommend you guys checking it out. Plus I need some support in the surround-sound debate. The stereophiles are ganging up on me! <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":\">



 
I saw that discussion, and was going to reply that in no way was that LP SQ, but decided not to "get involved", but now???

WTF??

I have a MINT copy of the original LP with the original label and pressing number, so now I have to break it out and test it.

H-m-m-m-m.

:-jon
 
Being that there was only one mix of that album made, the CD should decode at least as well. Looks like I'll be warming up the Tate tonight.
 
Okay, I listened to my Harvest LP tonight. It is an original pressing. I am not convinced that this is an SQ encoded recording. If it is an SQ recording, Neil purposefully went for ambient rears. The "mix" is not very agressive and not at all discrete. For the most part, his vocals stay up front and the rears have an echo quality. However, this could just as easily have been normal out-of-phase stuff being sent to the rear by the Tate. It's hard to say, but why else would "SQ" be written on the master tape box?

 
The only reason i can think for a hidden sq release is that all the Warner group, including Reprise, was committed on CD4 - but why not release almost a quad cart, if NY and SH had quad in mind when doing Harvest?
I'll check out the cd i've bought in 1983, one of the first Warner releases, thru a sq and a cs and listen what comes around...
 
Cai,

i've dug a bit on the SH forum, but it has proven difficult: for weird reason *any* browser (IE & 2 version of Netscape on Win, Netscape on OS2, IE on Mac) crashes always after i've read 6-7 threads. That doesn't happen in any other web site.
I haven't found the one about Harvest in which SH replied - can you give me a direct url?
BTW, good idea to post there the "Capitol Hidden QS" story. Hope it will get some answer...
 
Maybe Steve meant the "Harvest" master tape boxes were marked QS (not SQ). This more likely referred to Quadraphonic Studios where the album was mixed. Despite the name, most recordings done there were stereo, not quad. "Quadraphonic" just sounded cooler at the time, just like "Digital" was a few years ago. The "Harvest" mix is probably not quad (unfortunately).

Mark
 
Yeah, I've pretty much decided it is not an SQ recording. Your theory about Steve's mention of the "SQ" on the box really being "QS" -- being shorthand for the studio name -- makes a lot of sense.

 
Also, if mulit-channel masters did exist, they would not have so much work to do creating the DVD-A. If you read some of the articles around, Neil says that some of the songs will just get a marginal 5.1 treatment, while others, like "A Man Needs A Maid" will get the full boat. Back in the '70s, they would have done a full 4.0 mix on everything. Me, I am looking forward to "Words" (Between the lines of age)...

:-jon
 
Re PYE recordings
I have brought a number of them that were made in the 70s
Sounds orchestral and other LPs of City of Westminster band
Stereo Sampler all Decode as QS Surround not just ambio in rear
The Lps that I have are Astor lable a local release
so I carn't get the English Numbers
It seems that a lot were done in QS maybe to say later if it took of
Has any one else had the same feeling
ron
 
Hey all,

Just a quick note about 2 hidden matrix titles I know about:

1) The Beach Boys "Surf's Up" is encoded with the Dynaco EV/4 system. (for a little more info see my post Beach Boys in Quad in the general discussion thread.)

2) Donizetti's "L' Elisir d'Amore" was in fact issued only in SQ on Columbia M3 34585. I have a promotional copy that is marked, but the copies I have seen in stores were not. When it debuted back in the late '70s, the reviewer in High Fidelity Magazine made the comment about Columbia releasing the work only in Quad.


 
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